Computer documents may be accessed by multiple computer users in multiple locations, and security may be an important concern for businesses and other organizations, particularly where documents are created through collaborative processes like multi-party, multi-organization document workflows.
In such collaborative processes, which can vary in nature widely (from contract reviews, to research grant proposal submissions, to shareholder presentations, etc.) multiple users (e.g. in many different locations) may contribute material to a document or revise the document's content. In a large organization, collaborating users may be located all over the world. Collaborative processes can also take place between organizations. In such settings, users from several different organizations may access the same document.
Users may contribute to a workflow cycle of the document by reviewing, editing, etc., the document or parts of it. As the document circulates among users during a workflow cycle, it may be subjected to security risks inherent within computing systems present at a user's location. Some users also may not be granted full access to all parts, or components, of a document, so there may be a need for security among elements of a document.
Different environments may be available during stages of a workflow cycle of a document. A secure environment would be desirable for creation of the document, setting security features and creating copies for circulation among less secure environments. Workflow cycles would need to address creation of such circulation copies and their subsequent re-introduction back into a secure environment.
Issues of security may be more complex when the document accessed (in a collaborative process or other process) is comprised of parts such as a separately-editable text and images.
Where considered appropriate, reference numerals may be repeated among the drawings to indicate corresponding or analogous elements. Moreover, some of the blocks depicted in the drawings may be combined into a single function.